By the time the not-so-new administration of Dr Keith Mitchell picks up the pieces and meaningfully restarts the UWI Campus project, St Lucia may have secured all arrangements with them and Grenada lost its chance. These are not “my” words. In fact, these are words of regional people in the know – who seem pissed off at the pettiness of Grenadian politics.

It is generally felt that if “the leader” wants to make politics with the UWI project, he should not impute improper behaviour on the part of the landowners of the property earmarked for the project – for fear that he implicates the institution as participating in questionable dealings. This is the same thing he has done early in the aftermath of his major victory with the commissioner of police issue, when he imputed improper behaviour on the PSC in the process of choosing and appointing a new commissioner. That level of pettiness needs to be rejected by the Grenadian people.

Some time ago someone in the local media had asked the question: “Is the leader speaking too much?” It is believed that he is, especially as more Grenadians are beginning to join the sensible category upon realizing that he just cannot deliver. With the benefit of time, it can be concluded that his deliberate move to fabricate negatives about the last administration is starving out Grenada and, more importantly, Grenadians of important goodies, at a time when he promised so much and already the writing is on the wall that he cannot deliver.

The fact that he and his education minister, together with leader of government business in the Senate, put out to the general public that some “bubbul”/ “insider trading” went down regarding the sale of approximately 88 acres of land in St Andrew for the UWI Open Campus project is yet another desperate attempt to fabricate improper behaviour on the Tillman Thomas administration. Whether this was alluded to in the Parliament, during a post Cabinet briefing, on a friendly morning radio programme or through one of his recently reconvened face-to-face village meetings that is just totally unacceptable. The Internet makes it possible for everything anyone says – and more so government ministers and operatives – to be instantly available worldwide.

Many of us anticipated some big bombshell to come and so we are still waiting with bated breath. Based on what was said by “the leader” and others, one would have thought that members of the last administration knew what was going to happen and so they went quickly and bought the said land from government and quickly making same available for the UWI project in order to make “a killing”. This must have shaken up many Grenadians at home and abroad – as the Tillman Thomas administration purported itself to be of a different and straight dealing stock.

One important fact here, with the benefit of hindsight, is that the Tillman Thomas administration was not capable of doing anything wrong as they were not able to do anything at all – LoL! This was an administration which was slow off the starting blocks and became paralysed by the sabotaging inner clique who sat in the Cabinet and, within a short space of time after marking time, they ended up where they belong – out of office. LoL!

Thorough research revealed that the said property in St Andrew was purchased by Spring Valley Corporation Ltd from Hope Development in 1989. The only member of the last government who was a shareholder of that company (Spring Valley Corp. Ltd) was Michael Lett. This company (Spring Valley Corp.) never purchased this property from government.

When the UWI Open Campus project came up, officials of the Ministry of Education and UWI went around the island to look at different locales and they (the UWI officials) selected the Hope property. It is interesting that, although then Prime Minister Tillman Thomas would have liked UWI to choose a spot in St Patrick, he did nothing to influence their choice and so the Hope property in St Andrew was chosen.

The 88-odd acres of land were sold at not more than $2.50 per square foot – yet for all “the leader” (Keith Mitchell) calls that making “a kill”. It is a known fact that the cost of land is usually influenced by the purpose for which it is bought. And even if it were bought for a university, the Spring Valley Corp. Ltd agreed to sell the land to government at a modest price. Where is “the kill” and “who died”?

The kill is on the nasty lie on the dead people, to include Mr Ben Jones, a former Prime Minister; Mr Joachim St John; Mr Carlyle John, Mr Michael Lett and others (the on-record shareholders of the Spring Valley Corporation Ltd). Mr Michael Lett was the only one who ended up in the last government and when the transaction was going through, he was known to be on his sick/dying bed. What a nasty lie on decent citizens! Is this the way one behaves when he seeks to repair his legacy?

Could you imagine two other ministers of “the leader’s” Cabinet repeating this nonsense while alluding to possible insider trading? Imagine dead and dying men purchasing property in 1989 doing insider trading in 2012 to make a kill on the backs of poor Grenadians. LoL!

“The leader” would be well advised that old people say: when you lie on dead people, “cuss muss take you”. LoL!

Could you imagine in 1976 – shortly after we gained independence – if Sir Eric had played similar games with Mr Modica when he came here to hold talks about starting the St George’s University School of Medicine (today St George’s University) what would have happened?

“The leader” must stop playing games with the country’s development while he seeks to tarnish the reputation of good decent citizens. The residents and property owners in Hope, St Andrew and surrounding areas may very well have missed a wonderful opportunity because of a man with an irreparable legacy who sets out to accuse dead men of insider trading in 2012 – long after they died.

Could you imagine “the leader” talking about the previous government passing land to the university without finally paying the former owners? “The leader” seems to forget that we, unlike him, remember the several deals he presided over when he as leader of government passed several properties on to investors without one cent ever being passed to the national treasury. We need to find out if the owners of the Levera property ever got paid when “the leader’s” administration passed the property up there to two different investors. The facts are there to support the first as suing “the leaders’” government and being awarded millions of dollars against the government, and the second claimed to have given government the money to pay the poor owners (one of whom died of grief) who to date have not received one cent.

Imagine “the leader” has the nerve to talk about property being passed to investors without paying owners.

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